‘Small cells’ could fill broadband rural gap
Rep. Eddie Lumsden says expanding highspeed internet service is just one of the areas under study by the House Rural Development Council.
New “small cell” technology could help bring high-speed internet to underserved areas, members of the House Rural Development Council heard at the first of their 10 scheduled meetings around the state.
The small antennas can be attached to tall buildings, or poles in rights of way, to extend service or fill in coverage gaps. Currently, the 30- to 60-foothigh installations could blanket a radius of 500 to 1,200 feet, according to an AT&T presentation to the panel.
A football field is 360 feet long.
“Broadband is so important; local governments are trying to ensure it’s available,” said Rep. Eddie Lumsden, R-Armuchee, who sits on the fivemember council. “The private sector is willing to make it accessible if it can,” he said, “and wireless technology advances are being made daily in how that could work.”
The development council is tasked with determining ways to bridge the economic gap between urban and rural areas of Georgia.
Lumsden said he expects to get a clearer picture of the issues as they travel around, and some legislation is likely to be introduced during the 2018 session.
“But it’s going to take some time,” he added. “Our chairman (Rep. Jay Powell, R-Camilla) said this isn’t just a one-year effort. The problem needs to be addressed, as long as it takes.”
High-speed internet is only the first area they’ve turned their attention to.
Results of a broadband survey collected by the University of Georgia’s Carl Vinson Institute of Government indicate 61 percent of the respondents say they can’t get the broadband speed they need. The survey encompasses 12,106 rural participants between Sept. 23, 2016, and May 15, 2017.
Nearly all, 96.7 percent, said access is very important or somewhat important to their quality of life, and 80.6 percent said it’s very or somewhat important for them to earn a living.
While small cells could be a cost-effective option in areas with relatively few customers, the AT&T presentation pointed out that Georgia has not established a clear permitting process. It also noted that 35 states — including Alabama, Tennessee and Florida — don’t charge right-of-way fees and 23 states have eliminated sales tax on broadband deployment.
Those are some areas of action the council could consider, but Lumsden said relief for rural Georgia counties will involve a number of interconnected issues.
“When your death rate exceeds your birth rate and you’re not getting new people moving in, that’s a problem,” he said. “They say a big blow to a small county’s life is graduation day — when so many of the best and brightest leave and don’t return. We have to see what we can do as a governing body to help reverse those trends.”
Here’s the cycle he said the council wants to interrupt: Population loss leads to the loss of the tax base, which results in a lower level of services, which fails to attract the business needed to keep people in the county.
“It’s not just a Georgia thing, though,” Lumsden said. “It’s happening in rural areas all over the country.”